


Salvation

by LunarCycle (CrystalNavy)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-15 01:09:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21245033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNavy/pseuds/LunarCycle
Summary: Two people travel back in time, with the sole purpose of saving someone they care about a lot. Only time will tell whether they would succeed in their aim.





	1. Starting Point

The man coughed and spluttered as he landed awkwardly on the carpet of his own home. The woman, who appeared a short while later, helped him get up.

"My lungs aren't what they used to be." he crowed

"It'll be okay." his wife smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes "Don't forget what we came here to do, Bartemius."

"I won't, Sarah." he planted a kiss on her cheek 

They looked at their bodies, their 30-year-younger bodies. A sense of foreboding and dread lodged in their hearts.

"Could we actually succeed?" Bartemius wondered 

"We may not." Sarah reasoned "But we sure will try our hardest."

The doors opened and a young man entered. He was sixteen years old, and he wore a strained smile on his face.

"Arguing about me again?" he said matter-of-factly, though it was clear he was hurting "I'll never be good enough, no matter what I do."

Bartemius was about to say something, but Sarah silenced him with a sharp look. The message was clear.

They couldn't afford to mess up again.

Bartemius clammed up like a fish, and Barty - a nickname they gave him to distinguish between their identical names - made his way to the cupboard.

Sarah made her way to her son, and gently tapped Barty's shoulder.

"I'll tell Winky to make you a tapioca pudding." she smiled at him "You deserve it for your hard work. I'll also try to convince your father to spend more time with us."

Bartemius opened his mouth to protest, but Sarah gave him another glare over Barty's head, and he shut up once more.

"Winky!" Sarah called

Winky appeared with a bow

"Make tapioca pudding." Sarah ordered "The very best one. I'll come with you and help you out."

They both descended down to the kitchen, and began their work.

"I need to speak to you in private." Sarah lowered her voice "Has Barty been behaving out of the ordinary lately?"

"Yes, mistress." Winky said "He goes out at odd hours. He says he has important meetings."

"When he goes out next, follow him." Sarah ordered "See where he goes and who he is meeting. Report your findings to me and me alone. And don't let him see you."

"Winky understands." the elf saluted

"Good." Sarah smiles "Then let's get busy."

They devoted the rest of the afternoon to making the most delicious tapioca pudding ever.

-x-

"What did you find?" Sarah asked Winky

Bartemius was at work, and she made Barty run out to do an errand for her. She and Winky were alone.

"He was with three people." Winky reported "One of them was a woman. Bella, he called her."

A cold chill settled into Sarah's stomach. So it had already begun.

"They are bad people, Winky." Sarah said "He cannot continue associating with them."

"Understood." Winky nodded "Winky will take care of that. Winky is rather fond of Young Master. He treats Winky well."

Sarah smiled warmly at the elf.

-x-

"A vacation?" Bartemius asked

"A vacation?" Barty parroted

"Yes. We need a change of scenery." Sarah said

_We need to keep you from the Death Eaters and their corruptive influence._

"Winky has already taken care of technicalities." she added "She made a Portkey which would take us to a villa in France."

As far as possible from this area.

"You'll enjoy it, I am sure." she smiled 

_We are doing in for you.......for you.....for you...._

It took all of her self-control not to break down crying once she looked at Barty's smiling face filled with excitement.


	2. The Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crouches take a vacation. However, it is merely the first stage of the plan.

The vacation was superb, at least in Barty's eyes. His parents had stopped arguing and began showering him with love instead, as did Winky. He began to like France, and the delicious food - especially desserts - it could provide. There was even a magical school in France, called Beauxbatons. Barty yearned to see it. What he didn't know was that he'll get to see it up close and personal very soon.

Bartemius and Sarah had begun transporting their wealth over to France, bit by bit. There was a wizarding bank in France, and with the help of Goblins in Gringotts, they started to move their wealth over. They intended to turn their vacation in France to a permanent residency there. Barty liked it here and it was a place far, far away from the remaining Death Eaters. They would enroll him in Beauxbatons. It was a perfect plan.

It was telling him that was the hard part.

They sat him down on the 20th of August and broke the news to him.

"We're going to be living here?" he questioned

"You like it here, so we thought we'd make it permanent." Sarah told him gently "We're enrolling you into Beauxbatons Magic Academy." 

"But.....I have friends back in England......" Barty frowned

"We know." Sarah said 

_We know the kind of friends you have, and we don't approve. That's the whole point of moving._

"We believe you can find new friends here." Bartemius said

_Friends who aren't Death Eaters._

"Winky, you are in charge of Barty." Sarah informed the elf "We are off to England to pull him out of Hogwarts."

_And to bring the last of our money over._

"Winky will." Winky promised

-x-

"They are moving." Rabastan reported "To France."

"They think they could take him away from us?" Bellatrix seemed angry "Well, we're not giving him up without a fight. He deserves better than the cards he's been given."

"We'll set up an ambush at their home." Rodolphus suggested "They are certain to return there at some point, if only to lock it up for good."

"I like the way you think, dear husband." Bellatrix smiled "We'll find out where Barty is, and then we'll go and take him back. We'll use force if we have to."

-x-

With a smile, Sarah and Bartemius left Hogwarts. Dumbledore was sympathetic and he understood their concern. He even suggested some wards to place on the house in France to keep the Death Eaters out should they decide to pay a surprise visit.

They travelled to their old house to pick some things of value, and to say their goodbyes.

What they didn't expect was to have three wands pointed at them.

"Well, well, well." Bellatrix stepped out of the shadows "Seems that Rodolphus was right."

"I am always right, Bella." Rodolphus said promptly

"What do you want?" Sarah asked sharply

"You already know." Bellatrix grinned "And it's not what we want. It's who we want."

"Meaning?" 

"We want Barty, of course." Bellatrix laughed

"Then I am afraid you are asking the impossible." Sarah's eyes narrowed "We aren't giving him up. Never again."

"Then maybe the curse of pain will loosen your tongues." Bellatrix's eyes grew colder

"I don't think it will." Sarah grabbed her husband's hand and they apparated away with a loud 'pop' sound.

"Search the area." Bellatrix ordered

Sarah and Bartemius reappeared inside the house. They quickly took a picture of their family of four which lay on the mantle above the fireplace, as well as few other valuable items. They placed the items in the bag they brought along before apparating away post-haste. Not wanting to attract more attention, they took a train to France. It would be a slow trip, but it would be worth it.

Barty was worth everything to them.


	3. A Family Portrait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Would you die for someone you love?

"I would like you all to meet our new student, Barty." the headmistress, a rather short witch, announced "His mother, Sarah, has agreed to fill our vacant position for us."

Barty seemed nervous as his mother walked over to the staff table and sat down. The fact that his mother's request had been granted didn't help matters either. In exchange for becoming a teacher, she asked that Winky should be allowed to accompany Barty everywhere. She claimed he needed company, but he suspected she had other motivations too.

Thanks to his mother's position, she was always close by, and when she was off-duty, she and her father doted on him. They were given a small house near the school, so they could remain a family. And family they were. He wasn't sure what prompted his father to start caring for him again, but it was a pleasant sort of change. 

They often went on sightseeing trips when the weather was nice. When it wasn't, they often stayed indoors and played various sorts of games, wizard and muggle alike. Barty couldn't deny that he liked the fact that his parents had turned over a new leaf. He often gave Winky piggyback rides, and the Elf enjoyed that, in spite of her fear of heights. Barty wondered if she trained herself to overcome her fear for him.

He soon learned that this was exactly what happened. He and Winky had been allowed to go for a walk, provided they stayed together, of course. So they walked down the old cobbled road leading downwards. A figure clad in black was waiting for them. Winky immediately stiffened upon seeing him.

"What's the matter, Winky?" Barty smiled at her

This only made Winky leap onto his chest. She latched onto his shirt with her small fingers.

"Winky is afraid of heights." Winky said "But Winky loves Master Barty more. Winky will protect Master Barty."

"You think you can, Elf?" the man laughed "You are just vermin to be crushed under our heels. He doesn't need you. He doesn't need any of you. Will you return to us willingly, Barty? Or do I have to treat you as a turncoat and kill you?"

Winky was upon the man in an instant, pummeling him with her tiny fists.

"Run away, Master Barty!" Winky yelled out "Winky is......"

She was cut off by a blast of green light, which hit her squarely in the chest. She fell onto the ground with a dull thud.

Barty knew that honoring her last request was the only thing he could do for her now. 

So he turned around and ran.


	4. Breaking Tradition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Generally, funerals aren't held for House Elves. He is the first to break that tradition.

Barty lifted Winky's body off the ground. He needed to do this, for her. Gently, he lowered her into a mound, and erected a gravestone atop the mound, using magic. There were words engraved into the gravestone

Winky, forever faithful 

He stood there, stiff. His hands were clasped tightly together to minimize shaking.

Winky had sacrificed herself for him. She died to prevent him from being taken away. She loved him, as his parents did.

And he was too blind to see it. He was blinded by false promises, and Winky paid the price. He could see things clearly now, and he knew which path he had to take.

He would deprive Voldemort of one of his most faithful servants. 

He wrote a quick letter to his parents, telling them not to go looking for him.

He planned to lure out one of his 'colleagues', and kill her. Just as they had killed Winky.

A life for a life.

He managed to hitch a ride on a boat back to England. And he wasn't alone. One of his classmates in Beauxbatons went with him. Her name was Victoria, and she was born in England. One of Voldemort's followers had killed her sister.

They took a detour to Azkaban. There was another who wanted revenge. Quietly, they crept in, assisted by an Invisibility Cloak stolen from Barty's father. They unlocked a particular cell. The man inside took a few uncertain steps. He wobbled a bit, but they managed to reach the exit. The open air welcomed them, as they stole a boat right under the guards' noses.....or would have, if they had any. 

"Why did you rescue me?" the other prisoner asked

"Because I was incarcerated too, for the crime I didn't commit at the time. I only served as a look-out. I played no part in the actual act. But the Aurors arrested me all the same. And like you, I was rescued. I want revenge, like you do."

Sirius Black smiled, baring his teeth at some unseen enemy. Bartemius Crouch Junior smiled right along with him in a similar manner. 

Victoria shuddered at the sight.

Bellatrix Lestrange, Peter Pettigrew, and Augustus Rookwood vanished two days later. 

Their bodies were discovered on an abandoned property four days after that. Words were carved into their flesh.

Nobody knew why they were killed, nor who did it. 

Nobody except Barty, Sirius, and Victoria.


End file.
